


Coup d’Etat

by deciBelx



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Divergence, How Do I Tag, Lancer makes an appearance at the end btw, Miscarriage, OCs for plot purpose, Pre-Canon, Seam and Jevil are mentioned, Sorry Not Sorry, Spade King is a dick, Swearing, also poor everyone else that dies, and also the Knight, but there's only one bad word lol, death and lots of it, just a little, poor oblivious Lancer, relationships aren't tagged coz they aren't the main focus lol, who is a bit creepy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 13:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17426780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deciBelx/pseuds/deciBelx
Summary: In which the Knight decided a more... forceful approach was necessary when it came to overthrowing the other kings.





	Coup d’Etat

The Knight glided across the halls, finally discovering his target. It seemed that his mere presence was enough for the King of Spades to notice and stumble onto one knee.

“My Knight.”

“Rise,” And with that, the King of Spades did. His loyal mutt, once devoted to his son and kingdom but now nothing more than a pawn. “I have decided that due to the incompetence of the other three kings that you are fit to rule this kingdom as your own.”

The king gawked, “Are, are you sure?”

“Do you doubt me?”

“N-no my Knight! I was,” he paused as he tried to find the right words to speak, “I just didn’t expect you to bestow such an honour into me... But, how will the others be removed?”

“Dispose of them,” the Knight stated, “I want no trace of them or any of their blood.”

“My Knight, surely you do not mean- “

“I do. That fool may be incarcerated but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a threat,” the Knight hissed, his voice sending chills down the Spade King’s spine, “I will NOT have mistakes repeated. Kill. Them. All.”

The King of Spades was slightly conflicted with the task. They were his friends, he’d known them since childhood, their children even called him “uncle”. However, the Knight had a plan, a plan for all Darkeners, and if blood must be spilt, then he shall draw it.

“I will not fail you, My Knight.”

 

Julius was irritated by the emergency meeting that was being called in the middle of the night. The King of Diamonds reluctantly pulled himself away from his sleeping wife and bed of jewels to attend.

“What’s going on?” Yawned one of the drowsy heads of the Club King, a couple were still asleep. The King of Hearts whispered something to him, explaining the situation.

“Frankly, I could really use one of old Seam’s spells right about now,” Julius sighed, “It’s a shame he left after the incident.” There were murmurs of agreement as they all headed to the throne room. The King of Spades was already there, but as the others drew nigh, they noticed the absence of their thrones.

“Greetings, you’re all probably wondering why I called this meeting.”

“Well if we’re going to have a meeting then where are our thrones?” Asked the grumpiest out of the Club King’s heads. The Spade King chuckled before responding, “The Knight has deemed you all unworthy of ruling, so it seems that they won’t be necessary.”

The King of Hearts made a questioning noise whilst the other two kings reeled in shock.

“Are you serious?” The head snarled, “What power does that damned Knight hold to make such a decision?”

“More than what all four of us could ever dream of. The Knight has been able to create a new Fountain of Darkness, and the world it will birth shall be ruled by Darkners.”

“This is madness!” Squawked the King of Diamonds, “A new Fountain?! We will be doomed!”

“This is EXACTLY the reason why the Knight saw me fit to rule it. You three always doubted him, but now the Knight has guided us, and is removing those that sympathise with the Lightbringers.”

“What are you going to do? Lock us up with Jevil?” The centre head of the King of Clubs scoffed.

“No,” the doors to the throne room suddenly slammed shut and locked themselves, and Spade bullets surrounded them, “Now BOW before you’re king!”

 

Philemon, the Jack of Hearts, found that he couldn’t fall asleep, so he decided to go for a brief walk around the castle in a bid to exhaust himself. The shy jack often enjoying the solitude that came with it. That’s when he heard the shouting from the throne room. He froze in horror at the foreign sound, debating on what to do before finally peering through a gap between the two main doors. He gasped. The kings were fighting each other, but it seemed that the King of Spades had them all on the ground and was about to deal the final blow. His father was the first to be executed, and the Jack couldn’t bring himself to look away. A flurry of thoughts rushed into his conscience, _Why? They trusted Spade King! He wasn’t ready to be king!_ He slowly inched away from the doors, before willing himself to warn the others as soon as he could. In his shock and grief, Philemon failed to notice the dark figure not too far in front of him before crashing into the Knight. The pained squeals of the Jack echoed throughout the castle.

 

“My Queen, you must come with me immediately!”

The Queen of Diamonds was dazed from the rude awakening, before noticing the Rudinn Ranger and the absence of her husband.

“Alright, let me gather my jewels and then we can wait for the king,” she huffed, still slightly irritated by the wakeup call.

“My Queen... the king is dead.”

“What?” In her shock, she let the diamond necklace she was fastening fall, “What do you mean?”

“The Spade King has murdered the other kings and is currently trying to finish of the deed with the remaining royal families. If we hurry, we’ll be able to escape to a distant town with you and your brood to wait out the massacre.”

Esmeralda didn’t need to be told anymore as she rushed to retrieve her son.

 

The Queen of Hearts, however, refused to move as she clutched the crumbling body of hers. She had heard the cries of her only child earlier, and ran as fast as she can, only to find two of the most important people in her life gone. Nothing more than specks of dust on the ground. She screamed to be left alone when a Hathy tried to pull her away, ordering them to focus on the others who still had hope. The Hathy bowed, honouring the Queen’s last command and reluctantly withdrew from the area. The Queen of Hearts sighed before she allowed the bullets to pierce her being, her last thoughts being filled with dreams of being reunited with her family.

 

The Rudinn Ranger, along with a Rudinn and Hathy, tried to lead the remaining Diamond royalty and the Jack of Clubs, Clover, out of the castle. By this stage, his comrades had been forced to swear loyalty to the King of Spades and were hunting them down. He cursed silently when he found the main exit to the castle blocked and guards below the windows. The would all be surrounded soon. The Ranger only had seconds to formulate a plan before making his decision.

“Hathy, I need you and Rudinn to find a way to take a Clover out of the castle. If we split up then we’ll have less guards on our tails since they’d need to split up too,” he glanced around quickly, checking for any other threats before turning towards the Diamond royalty, “I’ll be escorting you, so long as we don’t encounter the Knight or the King we should be- “

“Yes?”

This time the ranger couldn’t even remove the volume of his curse when he turned around to find himself facing none other than the King of Spades himself, emerging from the shadows. Summoning his diamond dagger, he knew that he would try to hold off the King of Spades for as long as possible, anything to help the Queen and Jacks escape. Screaming for the others to leave, he charged at the rogue king and refused to back down as bullets tore through him. If he was going to die, then he would go out with a bang.

 

Rudinn, Clover and Hathy rushed through the corridor after they were sure it was clear, the Jack placed in between her two friends for some protection. The trio reached the elevator that resided at the end of the corridor, pressing the Up button. They had decided to try and scale down the walls of the castle and run from there. At least they would have a chance, it was a better option than hiding in the dungeon where they’d be cornered. Rudinn checked the small pouch they had on them, three jewels and ten pieces of gold shone brightly against the dim light, maybe they’d be able to distract any guards in order to escape. Hathy placed a tendril on Rudinn’s shoulder, giving a comforting smile. She was proud of them. The elevator arrived and the three of them clambered inside as quickly as they could, collectively breathing a sigh of relief. Hathy proceeded to check the others for any injuries to heal, even the smallest scratch. When done, she hummed a soft tune and gave Clover a hug, Rudinn joining not long after. The young Jack didn’t even have enough time to process her shock when they had to run. All three heads silently drooped as she let her grief well up. Her father was gone now. Just as trees needed roots to live and remain upright, Clover needed her dad to help her grow, but he was gone. The elevator gave a small chime as they arrived at their destination. The doors opened, and they silently trekked through the throne room. Piles of dust were scattered about; banners and the Spade King’s throne were torn from some sort of a struggle. Clover paused for a moment before reaching down to one pile and carefully picked up a familiar crown, slipping it on her wrist as she reunited with her companions before they set off to the roof of the castle. At least she wasn’t completely alone.

 

Adamant was a Rudinn Ranger before this all happened, or at least one in training, so he knew a few tricks. Clutching his own dagger, he gripped his mother’s hand as the two of them continued onward, stopping briefly for the queen to rest. Esmeralda fussed for a bit, insisting that her son’s safety was more important, but Adamant was, well, adamant that his mother rested for the sake of her other children. _Just like his father…_ She thought as she brushed a stray tear frim his eyes, a few welling up in her own. As soon as she found she had the sufficient energy, she gripped her staff for support and examined her surroundings. Pregnancy and the lack of sleep were taking a toll on her, but she had to make sure they were safe, that her son was. In all honesty, Esmeralda hadn’t felt safe since the Knight arrived. At first, she thought that his stares and overall demeanor was disturbing, but that was only the start of it. Then his gifts arrived. Little trinkets of jewels and small poems were left on her desk. She ended up taking those gifts apart and slipped the extra treasure into the salary of the Rudinns. It continued to escalate, and soon before you know it, she was begging the Knight to release her son. The Spade King seemed… displeased at the amount of attention she got from the Knight, confronting her on the matter not too long ago when Jevil was locked up. She insisted that she was the same person he knew from when the Lightners first left, if only the same could be said for him.

 

Above their heads, Clover’s trio peered over the edge, checking the amount of guards present. Most of them, however, were at the entrance of the castle. If they could climb down the back, just to the side of the new fountain they found, they could take advantage of the forest and run away from there. There was apparently a great door not too far from the field, if the trio could get past there, then they should be safe. The only question now was how to get down. They all pondered on the thought for a moment before Hathy gave a soft squeak, rushing to the throne room and returning with the torn banners. Perhaps they could use it as a rope? And so, the three of them set out to tying the banners together.

 

The Diamond royalty just narrowly avoided being spotted by a guard as they hid in a small alcove in the hall. But just as they were about to leave, a gloved hand roughly yanked them out and threw them onto the stone floor. The queen looked up in horror as the King of Spades towered above them, albeit with a few more scratches and cuts then when she last saw him.

“I’ve had enough of your insolence!” He growled, “There’s no escaping now, the Knight has ordered for your disposal and I shall execute it!”

“Please!" She cried, "If you must then leave my son out of this!”

“Quiet! The Knight always favoured you despite your ignorance, if anything I should make an example out of the whelp to teach you a lesson!”

To the queen’s horror, the Spade King grabbed Adamant by the scruff of his neck, causing the Jack to gasp for air as the cape around his neck grew tighter and tighter. The queen didn’t even have time to think as she summoned a row of diamonds bullets, slamming them into the king and causing him howl in pain as well as drop her child. “HOW DARE YOU?!” In retaliation, a spade tore into her abdomen. Esmeralda felt shock overwhelm her pain. Betrayed again by the man who was her husband’s best friend, the one that encouraged her to accept Julius’ request for a date when he was still a Jack, the one who cheered the loudest at their wedding, the one who was the godfather of their children. Tears leaked from her eyes, he was the first person Julius informed of when Esmeralda joyfully explained to Adamant that he would no longer be an only child.

“Why?” she whispered, clutching her frightened child as blood started seeping, “Why are you doing this to us?”

He scoffed, “The Knight has plans for our freedom, and if some blood must be shed, then it will all be worth it.”

“You weren’t always like this! What happened? You were our friend!”

“I was a FOOL. The Knight has enlightened me, he’s shown me the way, the path that will help all us Darkners, abandoned by THEM…” He hissed at the mere thought of the Lightners.

“Julius trusted you, I trusted you!”

“ENOUGH!” He roared, “I’ll never understand what the Knight saw in you, constantly trailing after you like a dog.”

“Well then tell the Knight that he can go find his own bitch! Oh wait,” she mockingly gasped, “He’s standing right in front of me!”

That was enough to rile up the King of Spades, summoning waves of bullets that Esmeralda tried to shield her son from, using her bullets and her body. There was no way they could outrun the volley, all they could do was try to defend themselves and Esmeralda made sure to deal as much damage as she could. She might not be able to kill him, but she’ll make him bleed enough to send a clear message back to the Knight, a final act of defiance. She looked at her son as her energy faded and her wounds became severe and whispered, “I’m sorry, I love you.” before darkness overcame her vision.

Amidst the chaos below, Clover, Rudinn and Hathy were checking the makeshift rope’s strength when they noticed the new figure standing by the fountain. They all froze in horror as the figure turned around to face them, and they hurriedly lowered the rope, the other two insisting that Clover was the first of them to descend. She couldn’t have clambered more than a metre when she heard the screams of her friends and saw them being tossed from the roof. She couldn't bring herself to move as she saw the shadow above her grow, the rope that was keeping her from plummeting with her friends only being anchored by the Knight’s foot. Clover frantically started pleading, her heads overlapping each other, but it was to no avail. The Knight lifted his foot up ever so slightly, letting gravity do its work as the Jack was lowered slowly, before joining her companions below.

 

{ }

 

Lancer woke up, yawning before hopping out of bed and onto his bike. He had the most wonderful dream, which he had forgotten now after thinking only about how wonderful it was, and was feeling rather jolly, planning on delivering some milk and salsa to his fellow Jacks for breakfast. But by the time he had reached their suites, he found them all empty. Even those of the other Kings seemed abandoned. Increasingly confused, he ended up searching the castle for them before discovering his dad in the throne room, which was a bit messier than before and lacked three of its thrones.

“Da- I mean father, where is everyone this morning?”

The Spade King merely grunted, “It doesn’t matter, what matters now is that the Knight has placed you and I in control over the entire kingdom.”

“REALLY?!” Lancer was excited, maybe now he could skip those boring lessons they had with the governess, “But… what about the other kin- “  
“I said, it DOESN’T MATTER!” The king barked, “Now GET OUT!” Lancer merely nodded, knowing better than to pursue the subject, before jumping back onto his bike. His dad may be in a sour mood but hey, maybe he could take this opportunity to go for a spin. His stomach growled, invading his mental conversation. _Fine,_ he thought, _Breakfast first then._

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> In case you were confused:
> 
> One of the nicknames of the King of Diamonds card is Julius Caesar, which is why I used it as his name in this fic as I also thought it’d be fitting seeing as he was... overthrown to say the least. “Jack” is used as a gender neutral title, referring to the Crown Prince/Princess of a suite. The word "Adamant" used to refer to hard substances/diamonds.
> 
> Anyways, I felt more content of the other Kings was necessary and uh, somehow came up with this. I might expand on some plot points placed in here in future fics but we'll see ^^ Feedback, hits and kudos are all much appreciated!


End file.
